good morning. will they reach a deal? the nfl heads back to the bargaining table with representatives for its locked-out referees amid growing outrage over their replacements. hunger games. new guidelines limiting the call rigs in school lunches that has some students complaining they are not getting enough to eat, and they are taking it to song. ♪ tonight we are hungry >> this morning how the government is responding. and changing her tune. last june in a jailhouse interview, the so-called soccer mohamad am accused of running a high-end escort service told us

she was innocent. there was no business run out of that location at the time you were arrested or any time prior to that while you were in control of that apartment? >> no. >> so why did she suddenly decide to plead guilty to promoting prostitution? the unexpected twist in that case today, wednesday, september 26th, 2012. captions paid for by nbc-universal television from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie. in sports, still the news. use of replacement officials, a story dominated the internet and front pages of newspapers all across the country. >> even president obama is voicing his opinion on that call that decided monday's game saying it was, quote, terrible.

so what will it take to get the real referees back on the field? what are the issues that led to the lockout in the first place, and who will blink first? we're going to talk about this in just a couple of minutes with this guy sitting right here, bob costas of nbc sports. >> matt, some people are so upset they are now making videos to express their frustration. take a look. ♪ i just met you ♪ that play was crazy ♪ what's his number, i'll call, it maybe ♪ ♪ it's hard to call right every replay ♪ ♪ what's his number, i'll call it may be ♪ >> spawning creativity so we'll have more on that part of the story, too. >> points out the fact that they have to do something quickly. then a woman who makes it halloween every single day. wears a different costume at work each day and has done it for three years and counting. this morning she's known as dressy jessie gotten dolled up for us in a nbc page's uniform

much to the chagrin of our real nbc page. more on that coming up as well. then a little bit later on we'll step into our "ask away today" machine and ask what you want to know about us today. >> let's begin with the referee crisis in the nfl that has fans and players alike blowing the whistle on the league. next's ann thompson is at league headquarters here in new york city. hi, ann. >> reporter: good morning, matt. you know, this is about much more than just the seattle/green bay debacle. there are some who believe the very integrity of the nfl is at stake here. players and coaches are frustrated. its loyal fans are angry and all because the referees, who are usually the least popular people on the field, have been replaced by men whose skills are now under serious question. you can feel the frustration on the streets. >> that's why we're here. you messed with our packers. >> reporter: on late night comedy. >> the replacement refs have a new slogan. close enough, that's fine! >> reporter: in the twitter

sphere and even at the white house. everyone seems to have the same wish as the president. hope the refs lockout is settled soon. >> i don't think anybody wants a big chunk of any football season being officiated by guys who honestly have no business on the field. >> reporter: pulled from the ranks of smaller colleges and high schools, the replacement refs have had their share of runnins are players and coaches. >> the game's final play. >> reporter: their toughest moment came monday night defining the outcome of the seattle/green bay game. was it an interception or a touchdown? >> touchdown! >> reporter: on tuesday, the nfl acknowledged the replacement refs missed an offensive pass interference call that would have ended the game. >> the call on the field stands, touchdown! >> reporter: but it stood by the ruling that the catch was a touchdown saying the nfl officiating department reviewed the video today and supports the decision not to overturn the on-field ruling following the instant replay review. >> i'm not sure that whatever

happens in a game is going to make the officials crumble or the nfl cave in to give everything that the officials want. >> reporter: the what the officials want is a greater contribution to their pension plan. the league wants better training and a stronger hand in improving referee performance. last year the nfl pulled in $9.3 billion in revenue, tickets, merchandise and lucrative tv deals, all part of the nfl brand considered the gold standard in professional sports. and an image that commissioner roger goodell manages with a tight grip. players and coaches face stiff penalties for everything from illegal hits to uniform violations. but there is a growing sense that the league is losing control on the replacement issue. >> the players are not respecting these guys at all. it's going to be like a snowball that is going to continue to get momentum. >> reporter: a strong fan base aids the league success but the

outcome of games called into question, the nfl could be sacked for a serious loss. now this morning there are reports that the two sides are talking, but there is still no settlement. in fact, the "new york times" reports this morning that the owners are dug in and want no more compromise with the referees union. all of this means that when week four kicks off on thursday night, fans, coaches and players will have to brace themselves for more calls by the replacement refs. matt. >> anne thompson here in new york on the story. anne, thanks very much. bob costas is host of nbc's "football night in america." good to have you here. >> hey, matt. >> the nfl is a league that defends its reputation and integrity of the game. >> right. >> at this moment right here in this situation how much damage has been done on the integrity and reputation? >> plenty. it remains tremendously popular and that's why it allows the league to continue on its present course. the ratings don't fall and the interest, if anything, even in a fiasco like this, the interest in it indicates the popularity

of the nfl. but if this goes on much longer, it's going to affect playoff races and what not. it hurts a lot. >> this has become a pop culture phenomenon but at core it's a labor dispute. >> yes. >> and the outcry after that game-ending play on monday night was it seemed roger goodell was supposed to go out and do anything, bend over backwards to get the refs back on the field. do you think that's a smart move on the part of the league and the owners? >> well, at this point they can't have this go on much longer. there's a contradiction here. here's a league that examines replays from eight different angles on eight different angles because they want to get everything right and are concerned about player safety. t >> why do you think this has gone beyond the normal constraints of a sports story, bob, and become the conversation at breakfast tables and dinner tables? >> because the nfl is a possible culture juggernaut. gambling has something to do

with it. >> $3 million changed hands as a result of that one call. >> it's not just packers and seahawks fans, it's gamblers and fantasy leagues. people expect sports to be fair down to the millimeter even though society sun fair. >> as we watch that play right there which is getting all the attention here, isn't it fair to say that even the seasoned referees would have been booed by whichever crowd the call went against. it was a close call. >> it wasn't that close, really. they should have gotten it right just with the naked eye, and then what really surprised me is the replay official did not overturn it because there was conclusive evidence to overturn. this is an interception. no question about it. >> how about the field goal in new england. is that a owu 1 in 100 kicks, m a seasoned referee have been booed for a call in that one. >> that one went in favor of the home team in baltimore. that call happened to be correct.

here it is on "sunday night football." however, if the credibility of the replacement officials is what it is and it's only getting worse by the week, if you have one of these, even if the call happens to be correct go against a home team, like lupica makes a great point, with incivility being what it is and the fan behavior we see with drinking and barnyard chants on a perceived missed call there, could be a very dangerous situation if one of these calls goes against a home team. >> real, real quickly. belichick, the penalty against him should be or will be what is this. >> a substantial fine. i don't think they will suspend him. >> bob costas, thank you. >> you know what annoys me even more than the replacement officials. >> what? >> getting up early to talk about this. >> the whining, savannah. >> once a year or something. every day for us. let's move to politics now. president obama and mitt romney are fine-tuning their message to voters with the first presidential debate one week away. chuck todd is nbc's political

director and chief white house correspondent. chuck, good morning to you. >> reporter: well, good morning, savannah. no swing state has been harder for mitt romney to gain traction in than ohio. it's why he's got this bus trip this week, trying to get it back into play. the president is heading it there today to try to put the state away. it's why they are both there this morning. >> it is time to get the real refs, and you know what, it reminds me of president obama and the economy. if you can't get it right, it's time to get out. >> reporter: barnstorming through ohio, the republican ticket is hoping their bus tour will make up lost ground as more polls show mitt romney trailing president obama in this pivotal swing state. in dayton tuesday romney hammered mr. obama on taxes. >> one idea, i admit, one thing he did not do in his first four years which he said he'll do in the next four years and that's to raise taxes. anybody here who thinks raising taxes will help grow the

economy. >> reporter: no. >> reporter: the attack over taxes is a change for romney who has often accused the president of raising taxes in his first term. romney is looking to jump start his campaign with a good performance in the first debate one week from today. the man who plays mr. obama in mr. romney's mock sessions though tried to lower expectations playing up the president's experience. >> he's been through a lot of those one-on-one debates with a republican. mitt has not, and you think about it, he hasn't had a real debate in ten years because these republican debates tend to be more like candidate forums. >> reporter: tuesday the poet candidates both made whirlwind visits to new york city. president obama addressed the u.n. general assembly, appearing to draw a real line in the sand on iran's efforts to build nuclear weapons. >> make no mistake. a nuclear-armed iran is not a challenge that can be contained >> reporter: strong words didn't satisfy romney. >> we can look at the record of the last four years. is iran closer to a nuclear weapon or not, and we know the answer. it's closer to a nuclear weapon. >> reporter: and both candidates tried to one-up each other in praising bill clinton at the

former president's annual conference on global giving. romney joked about the clinton bounce in obama's polls after the democratic convention. >> if there's one thing we've learned in this election season, by the way, it is that a few words from bill clinton can do a man a lot of good. all i got to do now is wait a couple of days for that bounce to happen, so -- >> president clinton, thank you for your very kind introduction, although i have to admit i really did like the speech a few weeks ago a little bit better. >> reporter: a couple of new polls, by the way, out this morning in the "new york times" to show you how much of an uphill battle it is for mitt romney. he trails by ten points in the "times" poll and trails in florida by nine. savannah. >> chuck todded a the white house. 12 minutes after the hour. once again here's matt. >> savannah, thanks. the investigation into the attack on the u.s. consulate in libya that killed four americans, including ax chris stevens. nbc's ann curry sat down with libya's new president last night for an exclusive interview.

>> reporter: would you call the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi an act of terrorism? >> i have no doubt about that, and it's a pre-planned act of terrorism directed against american citizens. >> reporter: what is your evidence that it was a pre-planned act of terrorism? >> number one, is choosing the date, 11th of september. it has all the significance. we take the facts about the way it was executed. can you see there's enough proof that it is a pre-planned act of terrorism. >> reporter: describe the attack based on your investigation. >> it's too early for me to give the details, but it was launched with a high degree of accuracy which means the perpetrators must have had some kind of

exercise on how to hit and launch these rockets. >> reporter: you're confirming that rpgs were used in the initial attack. >> mortars. >> reporter: mortars were use in the subsequent attack. >> at the safe house, yes. >> reporter: and do you know how many mortars were used? >> about five. >> reporter: and you're saying these were fired with such accucy. >> yes. >> reporter: that this could not have been done by someone who did not have experience. >> experience and knew what he was doing. >> reporter: and this is what is helping convince you that this was a pre-planned attack, not a reaction to a controversial movie? >> yes. i have no doubt about this. >> reporter: do you think the movie had anything to do with the attack on the consulate? >> not on this attack, it has nothing to do with this attack. >> reporter: so do you know then who is behind this attack and what the motive was? >> i think it's al qaeda elements, hiding in libya.

>> reporter: is there any direct evidence that it is al qaeda behind this attack on the u.s. consulate? >> so far not. so far not. as the investigation progresses, there is the likes of that that will show that the attack on the consulate was pre-planned with the intention of killing ambassador stevens, that is too early to say. >> the libyan president went on to tell ann at least 40 people have been interrogated. still no mastermind has been arrested, but he's confident that it will happen. >> let's get a check of the day's other top stories. natalie morales is over at the news desk. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad addresses the united nations general assembly today. on tuesday president obama told the assembly that tehran is running out of time to resolve its disputed nuclear program and

vowed the u.s. will do what it must to prevent iran from attaining a nuclear weapon. in an interview with the associated press, ahmadinejad called meanwhile for a new world order, and here in new york city there's public outrage this morning as the openly anti-israel ahmadinejad addresses the u.n. on this yom kippur which is the holiest day on the jewish calendar. twin blasts rocked a military complex in syria's capital of damascus this morning, setting off widespread gun battles. at the general assembly, president obama and u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon pitched opposing solutions to the crisis there. president obama is pledging support for syrian rebels, while the u.n. leader is calling for an end to all violence, including the flow of arms to those rebels. now let's head to wall street. cnbc's courtney reagan is at the stock exchange. new housing numbers out today, right? >> reporter: that's right and investors are hoping for a different day than what we saw yesterday. tuesday marked the worst day for

the s&p 500 in more than three months and could look to housing to provide a boost. new home sales, a major economic report of the day, and the third housing-related report of the week. recently the housing data has showed evidence of a very steady recovery despite some still other sluggish economic conditions. we'll have to see if this proves the same and if the market reacts by the end of day. natalie? >> courtney reagan at the new york stock exchange, thanks. while controversy with the nfl replacement referees has some fans outraged, some are able to laugh, or maybe cry, about the whole mess. check out this parody from kfan radio in minneapolis. ♪ got a call from roger goodell ♪ ♪ want to ref the nfl ♪ i said i'm on my way ♪ personally thanked the comish, and am i prepared for this cellnet ♪ who cares i'm on my way ♪ gypped jerseys, skin was showing, missed call no, whistle

blowing ♪ ♪ which way is the ball going, save me ♪ ♪ hey, i just met you ♪ that play was crazy sennerholt ♪ >> another call me maybe spoof and no surprise here it's already going viral. what's the statute of limitations on how many parodies you can do to the "call me maybe" song. >> 30 seconds. >> gangn"gangnam style" is next question. natalie, thank you. mr. roker is on the road in cleveland at the historic west side market which is celebrating a big anniversary. al, good morning. >> that's right. it's the centennial of the west side market. i was here last night to help the northeast ohio adoption services agency raise some funds, but the west side market, great place to get all sorts of food. a great place to visit if you're here in cleveland. unfortunately, our satellite imagery is a little shaky today. that's because we lost the national weather service's goes

13 satellite right during the hurricane season. the good news is there is a backup. there's the goes 14 and 15. no word when goes 13 goes back online. let's show you what we've got going on. watching a line of showers and thundershowers. radar working fine along this front. heavy thunderstorms from hockey hockey all the way into western pennsylvania, and as you look at the futurecast, you can see all along this system heavy rain starts to develop. it moves into the northeast later today, on into tonight. rainfall amounts. some of the rain could be heavy at times. we're talking anywhere from 2 to >> good morning., from a pretty good idea to take the umbrella with you today. it will not be a steady rain.

that's your latest weather. savannah. >> al, keep eating it because wait until you see this next story. we're talking about the looming shortage of pork that has bacon fans sizzling w.prices expecting to skyrocket, the question is do you really need to stock up now? nbc's john yang is in chicago with this story. john, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. this chicago restaurant, they serve up 500 pounds of ham, pork sausage and, yes, bacon. 500 pounds a week. so it's big news here. the pork suppliers are headed down, and prices are headed up. on the twitter verse they are

calling it an aporkolypse and bacongeddon. at this chicago landmark breakfast means bacon and eggs. >> you're going to see a whole lot of angry people if pork really does get taken off the menu for breakfast. >> reporter: from pork producers around the world, a warning. next year it's lakely to be harder and more expense i ever to bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan. >> we set a record in september 2011 for retail prices, and i think we're going to shatter that next year. >> reporter: that's because this summer's drought has driven up the price of corn and soybeans used to feed hogs, leading farmers to cut costs by cutting the number of pigs they raise. in 2007 u.s. farmers produced about 51 pounds of pork for every american. next year's forecast, just shy of 45 pounds, a 12% drop. >> we're probably going to have to pass on, you know, at least a 10% increase in all our prices across the board next year. >> reporter: for some bacon lovers it will be worth it.

>> i think it's 3.99 a pound now. if it goes up to 5.99, i'll just eat less of it, but i'll still eat it, definitely. >> i'd pay double that to continue having bacon. >> reporter: these days bacon is just not for supreme court fast anymore. >> bacon, bacon, bacon. >> reporter: in ice cream, in doughnuts and vodka, even in gourmet chocolate. >> i better stock up now. >> reporter: with big price hikes coming, pork producers say it's not a bad idea. >> if you have some space in a freezer, stock up on pork loins. ribs are a great bargain right now. bacon may be a real bargain relative to where it's going to be. >> reporter: at lou mitchell's, diners say it's time to strike while the frying pan is hot. >> enjoy the bacon when you can, enjoy the sausage and pork chops. enj enjoy, you know, everything from the little piggy. >> now, on the menu here, there is an alternative. a turkey sausage and turkey bacon. owner nick danos says both good products but not quite the same.

savannah. >> i was going to say, john. sell that somewhere else, okay? john yang in chicago, thanks so much. coming up, the surprising end to the sensational case of a soccer mom accused of being a high-end madam. but first this is "today" on nbc. anncr: more anti-maryland ads.

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you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. police in baltimore county are investigating an alleged sexual assault that happened inside a parked school bus. the alleged assaults took place just before 10:00 last night in a bus across the street from dulaney valley high school. girl was taken to hospital for treatment and she is expected to be ok. we will bring you more

information on this story as soon as it becomes available. sarah caldwell and traffic pulse 11 standing by, and the roads are wet, which means -- >> it is busy out there. 100 and howard county, we have an accident. and just in from 195 to 32. ridge road, watch for an accident. another one on northbound 29 in the area of 5-70 -- i-70. this debate begins at 795 all the way down. this is impacting your right on southbound 795 out of the owings mills area. ivey of traffic, 83 n. padonia road, southbound traffic. greenspring avenue, going away from us is inner loop traffic, just starting to build towards the j.f.x. >> right now i.t. is pretty nice

out there. a mixture of clouds and some sunshine. temperatures in the low end of the 60's. as we enter the next couple of days, those temperatures drop off into the 70's. this will be the warmest day as we head into the upcoming weekend. at the airport it is 62 degrees. southwest winds at 5. rain from the west. scattered showers will catch

73:00 now on this wednesday morning. it's the 26th of september, 2012, and no, it's not halloween, and that woman is not trying out costumes. are you lacking at just a few of the outfits worn by jessica mooney, also known as dressy jess jessie. she's done it every day, more or less, for the last three years, so the question is why does she do it? how did this start? does she ever plan to stop? well, we're going to ask miss dressy jessie. looking good in her page uniform this morning. just a few minutes from now. inside studio 1 ak-i'm savannah guthrie alongside matt lauer. >> also more answers to your "ask away today" questions, questions about us and the show.

savannah was going to get into the wind machine but had some serious concerns about hair and skirt issues. >> it's issues you don't have to worry about, let's be honest. >> willie geist will jump in there this morning. >> and a big concern tied to new school lunch guidelines. the rules that limit calories are leaving them feeling hungry. one school in kansas has created a light-hearted parody to highlight that problem. more on how the government is responding coming up. >> all right. then again, we also heard from president obama on tuesday on education, and this morning mitt romney shares his views on the critical issues facing our nation's schools. >> let us begin this half hour with a case we've been following for months now. the so-called soccer mom madam accused of running a high-end escort service right here in new york city. in an exclusive jailhouse interview back in june, she told us she was innocent, but now she has changed her tune. nbc's katie tur has the story.

>> reporter: a kiss billed as a sensational case by prosecutors, one that would take down new york's rich and powerful ended yesterday with a whimper. anna gristina pleaded guilty, but she isn't likely to spend another day behind bars. >> have no comment at this morning. >> reporter: walked out of court, a smile on her lips and her family by her side, a crush of media in her face. >> just a little more space for my family, please. >> reporter: anna gristina, the so-called soccer mom madam, won't be donning a prison jumpsuit any time suit. >> it's over for my family. >> reporter: after months of maintaining her innocence, in the end gristina succumbed to one word, pleading to one charge, guilty on a single count of promoting prostitution. legal expert john kelly. >> very good idea to take the plea deal to a victimless crime, a crime that people won't think less of her. >> reporter: gristina was arrested back in february, the image of an ordinary suburban

mom, but what she was accused of was anything but ordinary. prosecutors claim the 44-year-old was running a high class prostitution ring out of this modest upper east side apartment building. in a jailhouse interview gristina and her lawyers told matt she was just trying to start a dating service. >> i watched a show called "the millionaire matchmaker." a friend of mine suggested you'd be really good at it so i looked into opening up something called, you know, the same thing except instead of singles seeking it was married and seeking. >> married men looking for someone to have dinner with? >> very much like match.com. >> reporter: prosecutors say they investigated the push issan mom for five years. they claim she made millions selling sex to new york's rich and powerful, but in court tuesday they stated they couldn't find any evidence she dealt with high level complaints in politics, finance or law enforcement as they had once

believed. ultimately gristina spent four months behind bars before finally coming up with a $250,000 bond. today spoke wi "today" spoke with her exclusively her first night home. >> i'm scared to go to sleep because i'm afraid i'll wake up and not be here. >> reporter: she will be able to stay in her home for now. gristina will be sentenced to six months behind bars, but since she's spent much of that time behind bars already, she won't likely spend another night behind bars. still, she did plead guilty which means she could be deported. matt, back to you. >> thank you very much. let's get another check of the weather now from al who is out in cleveland. >> all right, matt, thank you so much. here in cleveland, overlooking the west side market, on the west side of cleveland, we've got a day today where temperatures aren't too extreme. in fact, really nothing all that

horrible today. we expect to see 60s in new england, into the northeast 70s and 80s through the south. look for 60s and 70s in the pacific northwest. still kind of toasty in texas and the southwest. as far as sky conditions are concerned, we are looking at a risk of strong storms stretching from oklahoma all the way into missouri. wet weather stretches into the northeast. fog along the pacific northwest coast, a slight risk of those strong storms may generate tornadoes later today. the sunshine continues through the southeast, and temperatures into the upper 90s through the southwest with plenty of sunshine. that's what's going on aro >> good morning. it will be below warmer today. batches of rain will come

and that's your late fairweather. savannah? >> students across the country are adjusting to new federal guidelines to make school lunches more nutritious but the effort to make them healthy is leaving some hungry. mara schiavocampo is here to explain. >> good morning, savannah. at the beginning of the year they cut sodium, increased fruits and vegetables and in an effort to combat obesity they set a maximum number of calories for lunch. the last part is causing problem for students. they say they are not getting enough to eat. ♪ i know i gave up on food months ago ♪ >> reporter: students at wallace county high school in sharon springs, kansas, aren't singing for their supper. they are lamenting their lunch. ♪ tonight we are hungry

>> reporter: in a video parody of the hit song "we are young" called "we are hungry," teens sing about being so famished during the day they can barely stay awake in class or make it through sports practice. ♪ so by the time we go to practice and you feel like falling down ♪ ♪ i'll carry you home tonight >> reporter: they say it's all because of new federal guidelines that serve too little for growing teens. >> around 1:30, 2:00, get hungry right again. in the past that hadn't happened as much. >> reporter: the parody was actually written by an english teacher at the school. >> they won, when the kids went through their line they looked at their plates increddously, like is this what we're being served in the lack of the entre and the protein that really hit hard for them. >> reporter: healthy hunger-free kids act of 2010 went into effect this school year and raised federal nutritional

guidelines for the first time in 15 years. one of the requirements, that high school lunches be capped at 850 calories a day. >> all right. >> reporter: the new guidelines are supported by first lady michelle obama's campaign against childhood obesity. >> when we're talking about getting kids running around and playing again, it is important to understand that this isn't just about fun and games. this isn't a joke. it's about their health. >> reporter: schools can provide more servings of fruit, vegetables and low-fat milk for students who need additional calories. >> 850 calories is a nice lunch. that's filling. where the kids are saying they are hungry is several hours later for after-school sports and they don't have the energy to be able to do that. >> reporter: the "we are hungry" video has gotten more than 100,000 views since it was posted last week, a strong message from students who find their new lunch program hard to

swallow. now in response to the parody a representative for the usda told nbc news the amount of food on a kid's plate is not much different than in years past. it's simply healthier. the new standards were developed using the latest science at the institute of medicine which determined the appropriate amount of calories. you know, savannah, the white house pints out that most students 850 calories will be enough, and we're talking about fighting incidents of obesity. >> for student athletes if it's a concern they can bring a snack from home. mara schiavocampo, thanks very much. >> coming up next, brian williams with mitt romney talking about what romney would do to fix our schools, right after this. [ phil ] i have a toyota camry hybrid. [ man ] tell me about that. [ phil ] katie and i talked about really committing to making a difference in the amount of gas that we use. she was using 8 to 10 tankfuls. i was using 5 tankfuls. now i use one tankful a month, and she may use about two. it drives like a sports car. it handles very well.

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while you're still in school, you might find the best route leads somewhere you weren't even looking. let's get to work. back now at 7:42, and this morning on "education nation today" mitt romney's views on the major issues facing our schools. nbc's brian williams sat down with the republican presidential nominee on tuesday at our summit here in new york city. >> in your view should teachers be allowed to strike? >> i don't know that i would prevent teachers from being able to strike. i just think the most important aspect in being able to have a productive relationship between the teachers unions and the districts and the states that they are dealing with is that the person sitting across the table from them should not have received the largest campaign can't abuses from the teachers

union itself. we have a very unusual system in this country, and it's not just related to teachers unions. it relates more broadly, but people are able to give -- in the case of the democratic party, i don't mean to be terribly partisan but i kind of am, in case of the democratic party, the largest contributor to the democratic party are the teachers unions, the federal teachers union. it's an extraordinary conflict of interest. that's something that i think is a problem and should be addressed, but allowing teachers to strike on matters such as their compensation, i think is a right that exists in this country, but i do believe we have to have a -- a recognition that the person sitting across the table is representing the public and the students, not the teachers union. >> another issue that came out of chicago, governor, in your view what percentage of a teacher's salary should be determined by test scores? >> i don't know that there's a fixed percentage, but i do believe that there should be some connection between the capacity of the teacher to move

students grade level to grade level and their compensation. i saw a study that was done in boston where they looked at the students in a classroom and how many of those students actually improved a full grade by the end of the year, and there were some teachers that regularly moved virtually all of their students a full grade level or more, and there were other teachers who regularly were unable to do that. well, my view is those that are able to do that should be able to be more highly compensated. >> you were lucky enough to attend cranbrook in suburban detroit. as of this year the cost of a full ride year's tuition is $38,900. do you think we owe as a nation every pupil in america the equivalent of a $38,900 education every year? >> well, i don't know that a dollar number always equates to how effective the teacher is. i was delighted to have a terrific education at what was a

private institution. that's not going to be available for the entire nation, but i know that there are teachers in the public system that are every bit as good as those in the private system. i don't know that i place a dollar figure upon it because in fact as i look at my own experience in my state of massachusetts, dollar spending per pupil wasn't a very good determining of how well the student would do. i remember at one point i looked at all the school districts in massachusetts. we have 351 cities and towns, and i plotted spending per student against the achievement of the average student in each district, and there was no relationship at all interestingly, and as a matter of fact the district that spent the most per pupil and had the smallest classrooms, cambridge, massachusetts, their kids were in the bottom 10% of our state performers, so i realized it's not just money, that it is instead a focus in how you spend the money, attracting the best and brightest of the profession, pre-motoring the very best, measuring performance of students, giving students the incentives to excel, but the key

for me relates to great teachers and creating families that can support their child in education. when i was -- when i was governor of massachusetts, i fought very hard to insist that parents -- i wanted them to have a training class before they sent their kids to school. i wanted parents to have to go to a class to learn about education, to learn about the culture of education, to support their child. i got some resistance from some folks who said the poor don't have time to go to your class. i said i'll hold them on sundays, hold them on weekends. i want people to understand the importance of parental involvement, and i -- there's no question in my mind, you take the very worst school districts in america with the most troubled student bodies and you put in some of the best administrators and faculty members, and those schools will turn around. >> that was mitt romney with nbc's brian williams. for more on the issues facing our schools, head to educationnation.com. up next, we'll answer some of your more "ask away"

questions. we've got willie geist, willie "houdini" geist in the wind tunnel of shame this morning, and we'll be finding out what you want us to answer in just a little while, but first, these messages. ...at the best schools in the world... ...you see they all have something very interesting in common. they have teachers... ...with a deeper knowledge of their subjects. as a result, their students achieve at a higher level. let's develop more stars in education. let's invest in our teachers... ...so they can inspire our students. let's solve this.

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and for some people, it can work in as early as the first week of treatment. so now i can do more of the things that i enjoy. lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior, or any swelling or affected breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. with less pain, i'm feeling better now that i've found lyrica. ask your doctor if lyrica is right for your fibromyalgia pain. a now live from studio 1 ak-it's your favorite time of the morning. "ask away today." our magic question box is filled with your questions and filled with the one and only willie

geist this morning, and once again we have no idea what the questions are. willie is frantically gathering them. >> did you get them? >> willie looks like he's got a handful. come on down. >> you're the next contestant on "ask away today." >> got to remove the goggles. >> the goggles are like birth control goggles. >> my david blaine moment. >> let's start with mark livingston from connecticut. savannah, have you ever done any modeling? >> no. >> we should point out savannah -- >> i can barely walk, okay. i trip, i fall, i'm tall. thank you, i think you met that in a nice way. >> you've got a nice physique. >> you crazy. >> for savannah, who would win in an arm wrestling match? >> oh, my gosh, we know exactly. >> move over. >> pardon me. >> ready, go. >> wow. >> i have more strength than i thought. >> come on. >> this could go on a while. >> matt.

over to you. >> erica doyle, did you always want to be a news anchor, or did you want to be something else? >> i wanted to be a ship's anchor for a while, and that didn't work out. couldn't hold my breath. no, i didn't at all, not at all. purely by accident. >> let's do this one. jennifer graham, genoa, ohio. what is something that you do when you get up in the morning, right when you get up? >> i blow my nose. >> i drink coffee. >> especially today. i go right to the bathroom. >> wow. >> matt, this one is for you. matt, why do you call al mr. roker and not al, that's from gail in chicago? >> that's like an old -- when bryant was here he used to call him al bear, roker. he same says back to you mr. lauer. thank you, al. >> in the out of respect?

>> one that was very popular, do the cast members wear and choose their own clothes? the answer is yes. we actually have a shot of our wardrobe department. they help us choose and make us match. >> donna picking the outfits out for tomorrow. >> i almost wore that other skirt, the black and white one, because i was afraid this one wouldn't fit. >> i think i'm wearing that dress on the left tomorrow so you'll be seeing that. >> great. >> just ahead, speaking of clothes, dressy jessie. >> the win who dons a new costume every day after your local news. without the blowing the stacking the steaming. that's the transformative power of one ingenious little breathe right. try one free at breatheright.com and open your nose instantly. feel the power of air sleep like you mean it and rise to mornings alive with activity. breathe better, sleep better. one free try is all it takes. it's your right to breathe right! aflac... and major medical?

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy this era. here is sarah caldwell. >> a few new accidents to add to the list. southbound j.f.x. on the on- ramp, there are delays developing. you can see the delays on the north and west side. 19 miles per hour on average on the outer loop. southbound 295, tapping the brakes towards 32. in this city, monument street and our street, watch foreclosures towards st. paul. southbound 95 heavy from white

marsh towards the 895 split. let's switch over to a live view of traffic and see what looks like on the j.f.x. to ruxton. further south, you will find delays prior to the scene at north avenue. tony has a check on your forecast. >> so far it has not been too bad this morning. this has leveled out now. sunshine is picking through the clouds. there is a little bit of rancho activity -- rain shower activity. you see some showers in the mountains of western virginia. probably a good idea to take an umbrella with you, even though there is nothing happening right now. it will not be widespread rain. a 40% chance for rainshowers. warmer than yesterday. upper 70's 2 around 80 degrees. during the day tomorrow, front

will stay south of us. high temperatures in the low seventies. chance for a couple of showers in the forecast through sunday. i want to emphasize, not a washout situa

8:00 new on a wednesday morning. it's the 26th day of september, 2012. a couple of showers in the forecast for later on. not too bad right now, and a nice crowd out on the plaza. we're going to take this weather after the string of beautiful weather we've had over the last couple of days. i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie. al is out in cleveland. we'll check in with him in just a second. and coming up we're going to meet a woman who takes dressing for work to a whole new level. >> exactly. let's put it this way. what she wears to work probably most people couldn't get away with. she calls herself dressy jessie, puts on a new costume pretty much every day and posts the picture on facebook.

has been doing it for three years and counting. each week has a theme for "a" for annie to z. that apparently was the burger king week. why she does it and how it all got started. >> she's dressed today as an nbc page this morning which is nice. also ahead, the new normal when it comes to the american family. everything from the economy to some changes in our society. are we defining what it means to be a family and how families all across the country live? everything from multi-generational homes to same-sex parents. we're going to be talking about that coming up in just a couple of minutes. >> also ahead, the men's grooming products that actually have some surprising benefits for women. we are going to show you which of the products you should raid from your husband or significant other's medicine cabinet coming up. >> can we also mention, our good friend meredith vieira, she has had some troubles lately, some issues lately with her hands. a couple of well-publicized injuries, and the latest one

happened during the taping of her show "who wants to be a millionaire." watch. >> yeah! >> yeah! >> ow, ow, ow. >> sorry. is your hand okay? >> that was so hard. >> she took a shot from an overenthusiastic guest, and meredith is joining us on the phone right now. meredith, what happened? >> the guy, his name is lee, and he got an answer to one of the questions right, and he didn't d one of those high fives that guys do to each other in a bar when they are watching a football game and the ref makes a wrong call that favors their team, and, you know, he hit me really hard, not in the hand that had the bad thumb from the olympics, but the other one, and it was hard, but then we made a joke of it for the real thing. i didn't have to have a bandage on it, but i'm very dramatic, as you know.

>> did you really threaten to sue him, meredith? >> i've only used my lawyer a couple of times, and that wasn't one of them. >> but so high five hand comes after the infected thumb in london during the olympics. you had another problem, you showed me the finger one day, what was that? >> i'll show it to you many more times. >> but you're okay, you've healed, correct? >> i've healed. i'll see you in a couple of weeks so i learned that. >> but i heard your hitch-hiking career is over, meredith. so sorry about that. >> you know the good thing, my thumb that got infected during the olympics, when it came back it still had a nail. i went to my doctor and they said they used the wrong antibiotics. the antibiotics they used on you are specifically for syphilis. so bizarre. >> you know when the conversation just goes one question too long. yeah, amazing. >> we love you. >> love you guys, too.

>> see you in a couple of weeks, meredith. >> feel better. >> looking forward to it. >> me, too, bye. >> let's get a check of the news headlines this morning from natalie standing but at the news desk. >> all right. good morning, matt and savannah. good morning, everyone. ohio's vital role in the presidential race has both candidates campaigning there. president obama is speak to college student at bowling green, ohio and later at kent state university. mitt romney has three stops in ohio, including a roundtable discussion on manufacturing. early voting starts there next week. iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad is addressing the u.n. general assembly today. his speech comes at a time when iran's nuclear program is under intense international scrutiny. it also comes on yom kippur, the holiest day on the jewish calendar. ahmadinejad denies israel's existence. in remarks before his appearance, ahmadinejad said that a new world order needs to emerge away from what he called american bullying. the nfl is upholding that controversial call by

replacement referees that gave the seattle seahawks a victory monday night against green bay, but the league acknowledged tuesday that refs should have called an offensive pass interference penalty on seattle's final play, a move that would have given green bay the win. now for a look at what is trending today, our quick roundup of what has you talking online. lady gaga is turning her recent weight gain into a teaching moment. she's added a section called a body revolution 2013 to her website. it features pictures of her proudly stripped down to her underwear, and gaga writes that she's proud at any size but also discusses her battles with e eating disorders since the age of 15. this video of a bold 12-year-old boy is going viral. he held up a sign at a carrie underwood concert asking if she would be his first kiss. well, moments later his wish came true. >> just so you know, my husband is somewhere in this building. can i look for you later, how we

going to do this? >> lip to lip. >> okay. close your eyes. >> yeah! >> good answer. well, that young man will be here live on friday, perhaps looking for his second kiss. maybe savannah will give him that, and photographer dave angle wanted to document the life of her daughter with a series of funny pictures, but when he started posting them on facebook fans around the world began clamoring for more. now dave is producing a world's best father calendar as a tribute to distracted sleep-debriefed or just clueless dads. love that. very cute. all right. it's 8:06. right now let's go over to cleveland for a check of your weather with mr. roker. >> those are fantastic. >> cute, really. >> love those pictures. >> those are great. what a sense of humor. all right. thanks so much, natalie. here from the balcony of the west side market, here in cleveland, let's show you what

we've got going on. for today our pick city of the day just happens to be the greatest location in the nation, cleveland, ohio, wkyc hd nbc 3. showers and thunderstorms today. a high of 69 degrees, and as we look you can see the line of showers and thunderstorms stretching all the way from oklahoma up into new england. behind the system we've got clear air, beautiful day. minneapolis is going to be looking at sunny skies, 63 degrees today, but we've got to also along the front a risk of strong storms from texas all the way into southern indiana. look for sunshine through texas and on into the southwest. >> good morning.ing on around ha a pretty good idea to take the umbrella with you today. it will not be a steady rain.

. and that's your latest weather. we're going to hit the floor. bizarre stuff going on down there. there's a giant ketchup mascot buying bacon, weird. >> we have the smell of bacon out here on the plaza, right? we're cooking bacon upstairs, al. see you in a couple of minutes. when we come back, a woman who makes it halloween every day of the year. we'll catch up with dressy jessie right after these messages. [ rosa ] i'm rosa and i quit smoking with chantix. when the doctor told me that i could smoke for the first week... i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression

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contest. >> there's the drawer of wigs. >> reporter: with facebook as her stage, jessica mooney has been donning hats, wigs and even face paint for a daily photo for three years and counting. >> captain kangaroo, that was animal week. >> reporter: now known as dressy jess, she has over 1,000 fans on facebook, many of whom she he never met. dressy jessie transformed five days a week to post a picture from her office at the university of minnesota where she works as a marketing manager. capturing animals, celebrities, athletes, fictional characters and more. >> this was part of annie week. totally creepy. >> while some might call it an identity crisis, she calls it a hobby and chooses a weekly theme, like dr. suess or pot meth who help inspire her outfits. >> that's david hasselhoff with

hot mess week. i think of it as performance art. >> reporter: and shows no signs of stopping taking the phrase dress to impress literally every day. and jessica mooney, otherwise known as dressy jessie joins us now. good morning. >> good morning. >> i know you kicked off your trip to the big apple by dressing up as the statute of liberty and now you're an nbc page. how do you like it? >> feels great. agonized over what to wear and they said, no, we'll put you in something. >> let's get this out of the way. why do you do this? >> i don't know. i just started it to entertain myself and my friends, and then it just kept going, and it's been fun, and i've gotten a great reaction, and the ideas keep coming so i keep doing it. >> you know there are people out here who think, all right, this is cute. great costumes, but is this a little wacky? >> it's totally wacky. i think it's really weird. i can't believe i've done it for this long, but it's just fun.

>> so how do you come up with the ideas? you've had 800 costumes. i mean, at some point don't you think, gosh, i'm going to run out of ideas. >> i would have thought i'd run out of ideas. certainly didn't mean to do it for this long but the ideas come from everywhere. they come from my life, from current events, they come from family and friends and fans. sometimes it's, you know, one character that i want to do really bad so i work it into a week. sometimes it's a larger theme that i fit characters into. >> do you have any favorites that you've done? >> i do love rucussa annie. >> the one that's creepy. >> i knew it was going to be weird so there was a lot of anticipation for the week, and then when i execute it had and saw the photo, i was like oh, wow, that's really weird, so i was excited about that one. >> at this point i assume you have a stockpile of wigs and makeup and materials. >> there's a drawer of wigs and drawer of eyeglasses, makeup, lots of costumes, lots of bit of fabric. you know, it's a little of jerry

rigged stuff. >> let's be clear, all of this is at your workplace. >> all at my workplace. >> you must have an extremely understanding boss. >> now files are digital so i don't need all the file drawers for paper anyway. >> perfect for wigs. >> exactly. >> what else would you put there? >> will you keep this us? >> no signs of stopping. i'll do it as long as it's fun. >> you have a couple of kids. what do they think? >> they were amused at first and now with all the attention they think it's a little cool. >> i think it's cool too. >> dressy jessie, thanks so much. >> thank you. >> you'll have to give the page uniform back. >> i know, i know. coming up next, the new normals how the challenges of the modern world are redefining a traditional american family, coming up right after this. dad, there's something better for dinner than that.

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and you can use up to four times less. good news for even the biggest kids in the family. we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra strong? 8:20 now. we're back with a new series called "the new normal." the name of a new nbc comedy that got us thinking about what defines an american family these days. it turns out the definition is rapidly changing. for these men it's another day in the park. football, check. sunglasses, check. pacifiers and bubbles, check and check. behold the stay-at-home dad.

>> i think as a community we honestly believe that dads can be just as capable, confident and nurturing as moms can. >> some 2 million men are the primary care-givers in their families, and in this economy that number is on the rise. >> welcome to happy hour. >> lance summerfeld made a decision to take a leave from his job as a teacher and stay at home to raise his son jake. his wife works full time. >> we knew one of the two of us had to be home. it was a non-negotiable. my wife's career was on a great track. >> lance founded the support network nyc dads group. they are 600 daddies strong from all walks of life, and though their diaper bags might be gender neutral, their tools of the trade are the same. >> always wipes, hanadi wipes. >> extra wipes. >> have a bag to wear like this so it doesn't look that much like a purse. >> raising kids has never been costlier. it's estimated 4 million babies

will be born in the u.s. this year. from their first breath to their 18th birthday parents will spend on average a whopping their 235,000, and oh, your newborn's future college tuition, try $81,000 a year. those numbers have many families rethinking their day-to-day living situation. >> we decided to move in together about a year and a half ago. >> recently alison bonds' family took in two roommates to help ease their financial burden, her mom and dad. >> the economic impact of sharing a home is one of the main reasons that it works very well. >> and the vaughns aren't alone. about 4.4 million homes have three generations or more living under one roof. that's the largest number of americans living in multi-generational households in modern history. call them the modern family, from at-home dads to shared households, it's a new day and a new normal. >> katherine perlman is a social worker and family coach.

good morning, good to see you. >> good morning. >> we say the new normal. when we talk about stay-at-home dads, do you think they are feeling from other people that it's normal, or do they face a stigma? >> i think there's still a stigma. the norm is the moms go to the playground and the pashs and play groups and do pickups. i think men are looked at is why is this dad here? >> what do they need to consider, things that will impact their lives for the better? >> i think that dads have to find their social group. i think some dads feel great are going to pick up and are with the moms and are comfortable with that. like the dad in the piece, some dads need to find their groove. >> the economy is clearly forcing a lot of generations under one roof. we talked about multi-generational families. it sounds like you could say oh, it's great, it's togetherness. the family is back together, but it does put strains on a family, doesn't it? >> that's right. it can be very stressful, and i think the dads have to be doing it for the right reasons so that they can feel comfortable about it. >> when we talk about multi-generational families, what -- what do they need to be prepared for. >> multi-generational families

have multi-interests, different age groups, some are fast, some are slower so they have to compromise and have to communicate. >> a lot of these families are experiencing -- we deal on the show a lot with boomerang kids. kids have come back home, and one of the big topics we hear over and over again in this new normal is you've got to define boundaries. >> that's right. >> how do you do that? >> there has to be open communication. parents have to speak with their kids. how long is this situation going to be? what are the curfews? are you allowed to have people over, so that they can come to some expectation. >> let's talk about a new group in the new normal. these are the multi-cultural families. i think the fastest youth group in the country, multi-racial children. >> that's right. >> and while we all applaud this, i think there are hidden struggles, and parents need to know about it going in. >> i think parents have to be afraid not to talk about race with their kids and be able to be open about their background and value difference. >> how do they help children? i mean, when a child comes home and says, look, i'm getting some

issues. i'm hearing some things at school i don't like hearing, a parent has to be direct. >> right. parent has to be direct, and they can practice with their kids. here's what you can say. when someone asks you, who are you, where do you come, from and here are your parents, here's how you practice. >> gay couples, kids then that have either two moms or two dads. what are the issues? are they the new normal, or are they still facing issues? >> i think it depends on where you live, but there's still a lot of people who don't understand two moms and two dads have a lot of questions and parents can help prepare their kids to deal with those. >> when it comes to dealing with kids, is the message you need to send your kids, it's about love, not about what the family looks like or is made up of? >> i think the truth of the matter is nowadays families are so diverse there isn't the typical mom, dad, two kids so there's room for everyone. >> katherine perlman, appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. it's 8:25, and the real cost of your free checking account, right after the local news.

>> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. but check on the morning commute with sarah caldwell. >> new accident coming in at northern parkway. if you travel in the city, watch for delays. north side at 42 miles per hour. improving on the west side. on average, 16 miles per hour. crash being cleared in severn. money would street -- one in the

street at calvert st., watch for closures at st. paul. update on 95, where we're experiencing a lot of congested from approaching white marsh to the 895 split. ruxton road, not bad here. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. tony has a check on the forecast. >> not a bad start for us, with a bang-wise. this should be dry for the rest of the morning commute. this will warm up a little bit today. showers upstream from us. some of this will catch up to us later on this morning and afternoon. 30% or 40% chance for rain shower today. otherwise, partly cloudy, with high temperatures in the upper seventies to around 80. this will cool off going into the weekend.

we will have a chance for a few showers in the picture as well. >> update at 8:56.

8:30 on this wednesday morning. the 26th day of september, 2012. the yom kippur, the oldest day on the jewish calendar and a day off from school for kids across the country and here in new york city. good morning, everyone, i'm savannah guthrie sit i alongside matt lauer and natalie morales. just up, the cost of free checking. >> checking out your statement,

a lot of fees are on the rise. paying more and more for the so-called free checking accounts. why are they on the rise and what can you do to actually beat some of those fees? advice on that coming up in a few minutes. also for ladies, an unlikely source for your beauty routine but there's men's products that your husband or spouse or boyfriend might have that you should raid so we'll get into that and find out why they are so good. >> manly, yes, but i like it, too. the old irish spring commercial. >> a lot of products out there for women. also coming up, more on the story behind the creative father-doubter photos that we showed you a little bit earlier on in our trending this morning. there's savannah and i. >> we know who the big baby was. >> love those pictures, absolutely amazing. >> cool. >> first we want to say hello to justin, the star of nbc's new show. >> hi, thanks. >> we're very excited to see the show. let me see if i've got the premise right. >> yeah.

>> you're a brilliant veterinarian who is wonderful with animals but kind of egh with people. come on. >> i'm grumpy. i'm grumpy, the character. >> why? >> because it's funny, i guess. >> yeah. >> rather than -- >> a wholesome nice guy. >> who wants to see that every week? >> you actually work with not just like puppies and kittens. you work with all kinds of animals. are you an animal lover, and how are your encounters going? >> i am now. yeah. well, it's great. every job has its own unique little extras, and that's this one. we have dogs and cats every day, but then there will be something special each episode. last week was a skunk and a pork peen, and i think we have an ostrich. >> anything. >> the occasional beckal tiger. >> any strange things happening with the animals? >> that tiger was on a gurney, and someone came to their senses and said maybe a cage is a bit better. >> "weeds" just wrapped up its

eighth season. >> crazy. >> feeling a little bit sad that that went away. >> like when you graduate high school. it's sad but you wouldn't want to do another year. >> some people do do another year. >> that's true. i could have been held back. >> exactly. >> justin kirk from marijuana to animals, we look forward to the debut of "animal practice." can you catch it tonight, 8:00, 7:00 central right here on nbc. >> thanks a lot. >> good to see you. >> good to have you here. >> we should go to cleveland. mr. roker has a check of the weather. see, we all get in on the mr. roker thing. equal love. >> and we've got a lot of love going on here. we've got the boys and girls club of cleveland. we've got slider from the indians, and condiments. don't do that. don't do that. that's just rude. anyway, we've got some very cute kids over here. we're on the floor of the west side market here in cleveland celebrating 100 years of fabulous food for cleveland. let's see what we've got for you as far as your weather is

concerned starting with today. expecting to see plenty of sunshine in the southeast. however, rain moves into the northeast, and we've got heavy thunderstorms here in ohio stretching back into oklahoma. beautiful in the pacific northwest with some fog along the coast. for tomorrow, look for sunshine, cooler conditions in up state new york and new england. more rain in the central plains. heat continues down through texas into the southwest. sunny and mild in the pacific >> good morning. it will be below warmer today. batches of rain will come

hey, guys, remember, you get three cannolis, get one free. leave the gun and take the cannoli. >> why do all men love that quote? i don't know. al, thank you so much. we'll turn to a serious topic. today is actually mesothelioma awareness day across the country, raising money for research into the disease. what can people do to do that? >> go to meso.org, find out about as much information about mesothelioma and please make a donation for some great work. >> thank you, thank you very much. coming up next, free checking. is it really free, but first this is "today" on nbc.

we're back at 88:37. this morning on "today's money," the real cost of so-called free checking accounts. according to a new bankrate.com

survey, fees are up as much as 25%, but there are some ways to cut your costs. sharon epperson is cnbc's personal finance correspondent. sharon, good to see you. >> good morning. >> >> good morning. according to the fdic, bank revenues have dropped almost $652 billion last year, about 1.9%. is that why we're seeing the increased fees? >> bank revenues did drop to that level, and we're seeing a loss in bank revenues due to the fact that there have been some major changes in regulations, regulations dealing with debit cards as well as overdraft plans. >> all right. we're paying higher fees, that's undeniable. monthly maintenance fees are up 25%. what exactly is a monthly maintenance fee, and why do the banks feel the need to pass this cost on to us? >> what you're paying for is the tellers, the call service centers as well as the maintenance of the online systems and the atm servicing. all of this goes into the overhead of the banks, and this is what you're paying for with the monthly maintenance weeks. >> out-of-network atm fees 2.50

but your bank may charge you more. >> 1.50 on top of that so the average is now $4. >> the non-interest checking accounts, the percent is free, from 45% last year, 76% in 2009. are they going away completely? >> well, they are definitely declining, and they are declining rapidly because, again, the cost of doing business is a cost, and they have to make up the decline that they are seeing in revenue due to the overdraft fees and debit card fees in some way. >> if you're mad about paying the fees, as an individual bank customer do you have leverage? >> certainly have leverage because you can shop around. can you switch to a different bank. online banks, community banks, credit unions often have lower fees or free checking programs that might be better for you, and then you can say to your own bank maybe this particular bank account doesn't work for me anymore. this is a bank account i had in college. may not work when i'm buying my first home. >> let's get to some of these individually. maintain a higher bank balance. it will save you money. >> it will save you money but you need a pretty high balance. now the average is over $700 in

order to have a free checking account, and some can go as hey as 1,500, maybe a couple thousand dollars. >> sounds like a obvious one but use your own bank's atm. >> an obvious one but a lot of people go out of the network. can you go on your smartphone and find the bank, the atms in your networks in the location that you want, and can you also swipe your debit card and get cash back instead of going to the atm. >> will that always work, buy a product, swipe your debit card and say i want $40 on top of this. aren't some banks finding ways to charge fees? >> maybe the merchants might but you should be okay if you do that. >> avoid overdrafts. this is an area where people get socked by fees. >> this is the way they get socked by fees, and that's what the banks were banking on, you know, a few years ago that you would do this but there are ways around it. do not opt into that courtesy overdraft protection. >> why don't you like that? >> when you get into that, then you are subject to an overdraft fee if your bank -- if your bank account goes to a zero balance. you make that debit card purchase and it still goes through but you're in overdraft

and you're paying that fee of over $30. >> you mentioned briefly a second ago, use a credit unions, community or online bank. is there a downside to that? >> well, they may not have perhaps as many atms, but those networks are growing. the key that you really want to have with these, with any financial institution that you go to is make sure you get the online mobile alerts. 24/7 banking these days. take advantage of that. know how much money you v.don't fall into overdraft. don't get hurt with the fees. >> real quickly, get your paycheck directly deposited. >> that's a simple way to get free checking in many banks, as long us a make a direct deposit and also keep a certain balance but definitely direct deposit in many cases can help to get the free checking. >> sharon epperson, well done. >> thank you. >> up next, grooming products for men that women should add to their beauty routine, but first, this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:43.

this morning on "today's beauty," what to borrow from the boys. most guys don't like to spend a lot of time in front of the mirror, so their beauty products need to be quick and effective and some can be beneficial to woman as well. elaine is the beauty director at "self" magazine. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> time to raid our guy's medicine cabinet, huh? >> these are great things that you can buy for your guy and then use for yourself. >> good. a gift to yourself. got it. >> exactly. >> the first thing is a wounds cleanser. >> called mr. fix it, an anti-microbial wound rescue balm. fantastic. put it on a little cut i got with my blender and helps to fight against staph infections, bacterias, so it keeps you clean and keeps your wounds healing faster. >> does it sting? >> does not sting. >> okay, good. is this for runers? >> a great product for runner, dry run foot cream and extracts from volcano which helps absorb moisture. >> volcano? >> okay. >> volcanic extract so that

helps to prevent friction, you know, in your shoes, so it helps -- >> keep them dry. a lot of runners have their toenails fall off. supposed to help with that. >> won't help your toenails as much. it will help the chafing. >> i know from personal experience but that's another experien experience. lush dirty spring wash, what's that? >> it's a shampoo and body wash. it's a menthol and spearmint combination, a great scent, very uplifting. >> not too manly. >> and i think it's a great thing to have in your gym bag, after a spin class, trying to cool off and put your clothes back on, great product. >> okay. a lot of people around here were loving this woody's, some kind of three in one bar. >> fantastic three in one bar. a shaving cream, a shampoo and body wash so it's a great thing to travel with so you can go on board with that. >> it lathers up sufficiently like a shaving cream. >> yes. >> got to do the smell test.

>> delicious. not too girly or too boyy, perfect. >> what's this stuff? >> it's a cool fix balm and also a cleanser, and this helps to prevent in-grown hairs. this is a fantastic combination of products. you can use one or both to fix in-grown hairs, so like under your arms, bikini line. >> men are supposed to use it after shaving. >> okay. >> but you can use it on other parts of your body? >> places you might be shaving. >> exactly. >> all right. what do we have here? >> from clinique, an eye balm designed for anti-fatigue. all need, that need it for undereye puffiness, and our blogger said it's great for hangover. >> men and women get those equally. >> a good fixer. >> there are women products that do the same thing. >> yes. >> are they essentially the same or something about this that makes it better? >> this will have like maybe a little less fragrance which is nice if you're not into fragrance, and it goes on and it's, you know, great, yeah.

>> old spice. we knew this was come. like the smell of old spice but do women want to smell like old spice? >> that fragrance is so individual and subjective. go for what you like. >> yeah. >> but our blogger loved this fragrance because it's -- it's super fresh and clean. >> oh, it is nice. >> and, again, i think it's one of those great gym bag things. >> yeah. is it stronger? >> a little bit stronger. >> what was the old commercial, made for a woman but strong enough for a man, made for a man but strong enough for a woman. >> all amazing fragrances we had women test in a blind sniff test and tell us what they liked for themselves and for their guy. this one from prado one. a really classic light scent. >> can i try it. >> it's glued on. >> and then one from nautica and one from lacoste and one from soul to soul. >> this is nice. >> banana republic has an

amazing one called wild blue, and it's super fresh. >> some of these men's fragrances would probably smell a little differently on woman. >> all fragrances smell differently on everybody, it's all about your phemones and how they combine. >> you have to try and see what you like. your guy can wear it and he'll smell one way and you'll wear it and smell another way but you'll be matching. >> elaine, great ideas. i like it. >> thank you. >> just ahead. kathie lee and hoda have done it. they have joined the "ask away today." they want out. >> how does your hair look good? >> lots of gel. lots of gel. >> product. product. >> momma. momma. >> but first this is "today" on [ male announcer ] airtran airways is having a sale.

which means our already low fares...are even lower. that's like making the grand canyon...grander. or the great lakes...greater. or the rocky mountains... rockier. you know what i mean. lucky for you, airtran offers flights

to destinations like these across the u.s. we just made something awesome, awesomer. airtran is having a sale with flights starting at 69 dollars one-way. all with wifi. book today at airtran.com. go. there's nothing stopping you. we're back now at 8:45, and we've got leonard's look. this morning mike leonard tracks down two men we last saw as young boys, two men with big talent and very high hopes to see how their lives turned out. >> hey. hey. >> reporter: we first met more than two decades ago. >> we're buddies, man, look at us. you know what i mean? 22 years later, dude. i mean, to me, that was more important that came out of that. >> the friendship. >> we barely knew each other. >> a long friendship. >> reporter: and it all started with a letter to nbc written

back in 1990 by a younger danny wilson, prompting a younger me to travel down to the seventh ward of new orleans for a "today" profile on danny's lifelong friend, amateur artist lyndon, he of the big dreams and a very small portfolio. you saw something in him. >> saw something he had in him, deep within him. it wasn't his hobby but part of his life. >> reporter: a life soond to be made better by turning junk, his mom's discarded gum wrappers, into art. >> perfect material for what i -- for what i use them for. it's the perfect thing. can you see where even the twists and folds into the material takes on characteristic of movement >> reporter: story aired on "today" in october of 1990, and then something magical happened. >> ripley's believe it or not museum saw that segment, and i

think they bought ten -- at least ten and put them in their museums around the world. >> reporter: encouraged by the demand for his art and supported by pell grants and student loans, all of which he has since repaid, lyndon left new orleans to attend the prestigious california institute of the arts where he learned to animate his gum wrappers. >> it's ironic, man, you know, trash. >> reporter: which brings us to the present, inside the production facility of vancouver's image engine where lyndon, a man with a grown son, works on an upcoming motion picture, the 20th of lyndon's career. as the supervisor of animation, his movie credits include "the tree of life," the last two "matrix" movies and a number of other well-known productions. earlier this year his live action debut film, "the lift," won best director and best movie short at the madrid film

festival. as for danny wilson, now living in a suburb of atlanta and a married father of one as well, he, too, has reaped the rewards of high hopes and hard work from his earlier stints road managing ll cool j, puff daddy and other big name musical acts to radio station ownership and his ongoing crusade to clean up the lyrics of hip-hop. >> life and death, either you're going to speak life or speak death. i prefer to be around music and things that speak life. >> reporter: life in all its wondrous twists and turns. 22 years ago a young man was making something out of nothing in the quiet of his new orleans home, and then his friend wrote a letter to a reporter. >> and it was a springboard to a lot of things that happened since then but, you know, it's just been cool just to be friends all that time. >> reporter: for "today," mike leonard, nbc news, vancouver,

british columbia. >> one of my favorite things about mike leonard, when he goes back and catches up with people so we don't forget them. that's a nice story. >> great story of success there, too. >> nice how it turned out. meanwhile, look who has made an appearance in our "ask away today" questions, kathie lee and hoda with a couple of glasses of wine. can you guys grab glasses while drinking? >> oh, you have no idea. >> god one, hode. >> got one here. >> i was just wondering if savannah will marry me. bob ferraro from missouri. >> will marry you. >> oh, well, bob, we've never met, so i guess -- >> just say yes. >> sure. >> i was told by our producer it was one of the most frequently asked questions, marriage proposals. >> whether she would marry bob ferraro. >> marriage proposals from savannah. >> that's flattering, that's nice. >> what was the best and worst thing that you tasted after a

food segment from brenda cunningham. >> i remember there was that avocado popsicle or something. who made that, mark bittman. >> i thought that was good actually. >> i hate coconut so we've had a bunch of coconut recipes. >> how can you hate coconut? >> i don't like coconut. >> fish in the morning for me is always a little -- >> stop talking, stop talking. >> if you had the ability to change anything about matt, what would it be and why, cindy from kingston, pennsylvania. >> oh, cindy. >> that's good, that's good. >> nothing. >> no, go ahead. you can answer the question. >> if he were taller. >> i'd like him to mess up more, he's too perfect. >> then what would happen. >> i don't know. i don't know. then i wouldn't be taller than you sometimes when i wear my tall heels. >> i don't think you're taller than me in bare feet. >> look at natalie's heels. she gets to wear the tall heels.

>> i'm tall every day. >> we're over here. >> sorry. >> hello. >> i've got questions up my wazoo, i don't know about you. we've got to go. ten seconds. >> bye. nice talking to you. >> thanks for playing our game. we're back after your local news. >> you're actually perfect the way you are. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. former university of virginia lacrosse player george huguely is appealing his murder condition. he was sentenced to years behind bars for his role in the beating death of your the glove.

>> we have a chance for a little bit of rain in the forecast. a mixture of clouds and sunshine. 30% or 40% chance for a rain shower. cooler tomorrow. >> we are back with the weather update at 9:25. update at 9:25.